Present known methods of immobilizing broken, fractured, sprained or strained limbs during the curing period generally consist of plaster-of-paris casts which are applied in a closed configuration, i.e. the cast encloses the whole of the limb except at the ends where a hand or foot may protrude and an opposed end where an upper portion of the limb passes into the cast.
However, this conventional method of supporting an injured limb has several drawbacks. Application of the cast requires skilled and trained personnel to apply the wet slurry to the limb over a stockinette or other similar gauze-type material, a task which generally takes about 15 to 45 minutes. A particular disadvantage is that, should the patient's skin be lacerated and broken, healing of the skin is either very difficult or prevented. Obviously, this can cause pain and general soreness to the patient. However, and perhaps more importantly, as the plaster-of-paris cast dries and cures, so heat is generated and much of this heat is passed to the patient's limb. This causes swelling of the damaged limb which tightens within the cast, blood circulation is affected which can cause further swelling leading to further blood circulatory problems. Thus, the swelling which frequently accompanies a skeletal fracture or break, torn ligaments, etc. is increased by the application of heat thereto from the setting cast.
The application of cold water or ice directly to the cast at this stage is not possible since the cast would disintegrate. Furthermore, such cooling treatment is not practicable at any time since the cast is not waterproof or resistant to deterioration by water. After the heat from the cast has eventually dissipated, swelling of the limb may subside but the closed nature of the cast about the limb prevents air-circulation and bathing of the limb. The latter is a very real problem for patients wearing a cast for several weeks.
Furthermore, the plaster-of-paris cast takes approximately 5-15 minutes to set, after which time the cast can still be displaced by movement of the patient. It is not until the cast has fully cured, which takes about 48 hours, that the cast is fully hardened, by which time it may have been displaced and rendered far from functional.
Additionally, if the plaster-of-paris cast is to be a walking cast, it must be modified by the application of a solid, bulky plaster portion under the foot. This of course requires the usual 48 hours before it has cured and can be used for walking. The portion under the foot also means that the leg with the cast is effectively longer than the other leg.
Removal of the traditional plaster-of paris cast whilst not being a very difficult problem necessitates a somewhat dirty and time consuming cutting operation. Furthermore, damage to the limb is possible when the cast is broken away.
Refinements on the traditional plaster-of-paris cast have been attempted from time to time, none of them having been particularly successful or used to any great extent. U.S. Pat. No. 3,110,307 to Hamilton, teaches a flexible solid body which is partitioned for receiving a pre-mixed hardening material. In use, metal end caps are fitted to the solid body splint and the pre-mixed material is forced in along longitudinal compartments. The solid body is then fitted to the limb of a patient and, the end caps optionally removed after the hardening agent has cured. However, this splint incorporates most of the disadvantages of the conventional plaster-of-paris cast. Principally, it has the closed cast configuration which prevents air-circulation and bathing of the encased limb. Again, much of the heat generated by the curing hardening agent is imparted to the encased limb to cause swelling and associated blood circulatory problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,243 to Sheldon utilizes a strip or bandage type cast which is applied to the injured limb in a traditional bandage configuration before a hardening material within the strip cures. The cast has the disadvantage that possibly toxic hardening reagents could contact the skin due to the open-sided or sandwich configuration of the strip. Furthermore, the cured cast, in traditional manner, totally encloses the injured limb thereby reducing air-circulation and creating heat dissipation and blood circulatory problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a splint or cast which effectively immobilizes an injured limb, and which can be simply, speedily and cleanly applied.
A further object of the invention is to provide a splint or cast when dissipates heat outwards away from the patient's limb thereby reducing swelling and blood circulatory problems.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a splint or cast which can be applied to an injured limb in an open-cast or non-total enclosure configuration with spacing between successive wrappings or windings of the product around an injured limb whilst at the same time providing effective support. This permits air circulation about the injured limb and associated improved skin care.
Still, a further object of the present invention is to provide a product which will withstand wetting during bathing.